Cumulative nitrogen enrichment alters the drivers of grassland overyielding.

ABSTRACT: Effects of plant diversity on grassland productivity, or overyielding, are found to be robust to nutrient enrichment. However, the impact of cumulative nitrogen (N) addition (total N added over time) on overyielding and its drivers are underexplored. Synthesizing data from 15 multi-year grassland biodiversity experiments with N addition, we found that N addition decreases complementarity effects and increases selection effects proportionately, resulting in no overall change in overyielding regardless of N addition rate. However, we observed a convex relationship between overyielding and cumulative N addition, driven by a shift from complementarity to selection effects. This shift suggests diminishing positive interactions and an increasing contribution of a few dominant species with increa

SUBMITTER: He M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10928195 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature